Speaker Scott Faces Questions Over Alleged VMI Board Pressure and Budget Threats

Virginia's House Speaker demanded the resignation or change of roles of two Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors (BOV) members or suffer budget consequences, allege sources with direct knowledge of the threat. Lt. Gen. David Furness's continuance as superintendent is conditioned on compliance. The Cadet is investigating, has submitted formal questions, and is awaiting a response.Multiple sources with knowledge of the events provided The Cadet with serious allegations involving Virginia House Speaker Don Scott — allegations that neither VMI nor its alumni organizations have made public. According to those sources, Speaker Scott requested either the resignation or a change in role of two prominent members of VMI's Board of Visitors: Mr. Teddy Gottwald and Col. (Ret.) Jamie Inman. The sources allege the request was not made as a matter of ordinary governance, but was accompanied by an explicit threat: that if Gottwald and Inman did not comply, the Speaker would take adverse action against VMI's budget and appropriations in the current — and possibly future — legislative sessions. These are serious allegations involving the potential use of legislative appropriations authority as a coercive instrument against an independent state institution. The Cadet is investigating. Further, the sources allege the actions were presented as a condition for the Speaker to cease his separate campaign to pressure VMI Superintendent Lt. Gen. David Furness into resigning, and threats to VMI's budget now before the General Assembly. Public comments from members of the VMI administration, previously reported in The Cadet, confirmed that Scott communicated conditions related to Lt. Gen. Furness's tenure directly to the Superintendent himself and, separately, to Cadet leadership meetings at which Scott was present. The condition was that Furness resign so that Scott would stop his actions against the Institute. VMI has not publicly acknowledged any of these events regarding Gottwald and Inman, nor have the Institute's Alumni Agencies addressed Gottwald's departure from the Board or Inman's change in role as of The Cadet's deadline. As of the publication of this article, however, publicly available information on the VMI Board of Visitors website corroborates a significant and unexplained change in the Board's composition. WHAT THE VMI BOV WEBSITE SHOWS AS OF APRIL 22, 20261. Mr. Teddy Gottwald is no longer listed as a member of the Board of Visitors.2. The position of BOV President, previously held by Col. (Ret.) Jamie Inman is listed as VACANT.3. The position on the BOV Executive Committee previously held by Mr. Gottwald is listed as VACANT.4. Neither Mr. Gottwald nor Col. Inman appears on Board committee listings.5. Gottwald is no longer listed on the "Terms of Current Members (updated April 2026) The Cadet confirmed that Gottwald left the Board, and Inman stepped down from his role as president. A new president, likely one of Gov. Spanberger's appointees, will be elected at the April 27 – 29, 2026, meeting, with an "Election of board officers" on the agenda for April 29. The departures are notable. Gottwald and Inman were among the Board's most senior figures. Inman held its presidency. Both were targeted with personal attacks by the former Superintendent and his supporters, including Speaker Scott, after the Board voted not to give Wins a new contract. As previously covered in The Cadet, one such allegation against Inman prompted former Superintendent Gen. Binford Peay to break his silence and denounce it as completely false. No announcement, statement, or explanation has been offered by VMI, the VMI Foundation, or the Alumni Agencies regarding their departure as of publication, and all continue to lobby for increases in alumni and other donations to fund VMI. Governor Spanberger, who holds the authority to hire and fire BOV Members and is the Commander-in-Chief of VMI by statute, has yet to comment. The silence is itself a story. Institutional leadership changes of this magnitude — particularly the vacancy of the Board presidency — would ordinarily be accompanied by a formal announcement, gratitude for service, and transition plans. The Cadet submitted a formal on-the-record media inquiry to Speaker Scott's office on the morning of April 21, 2026, with a response deadline of 9:00 a.m., April 22, 2022, confirming receipt by phone. The inquiry posed four direct questions: QUESTIONS PUT TO SPEAKER SCOTT — ON THE RECORD1. Did you request the resignations of Mr. Gottwald and Col. Inman from the VMI Board of Visitors? If so, under what authority and for what stated reason?2. Did you communicate, directly or through intermediaries, that VMI's budget or legislative funding was contingent on those resignations or otherwise at risk?3. Did you condition your withdrawal of pressure for Lt. Gen. Furness's resignation on the removal of Mr. Gottwald and Col. Inman from the Board?4. Did you convey any of these conditions in a meeting with Lt. Gen. Furness and/or VMI Cadet leadership at any time? As of press time, no response had been received from the Speaker's office. The Cadet followed up with Scott's office, reminding him of the deadline and requesting a comment, but received no response. The Cadet will update this report if and when a response is provided. If the office declines to comment or does not respond, that fact will be reported in full. The allegations, if accurate, would raise serious questions about the separation between legislative power and the independence of Virginia's state educational institutions. VMI is a state-supported institution whose budget is subject to General Assembly appropriation, which is precisely what gives the allegations their weight. The use of funding authority or other coercion as leverage over personnel decisions at an independent institution would represent an unusual and constitutionally significant assertion of legislative influence. In addition, Gov. Spanberger recently named former VMI Superintendent Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins to the Virginia Commission on Higher Education Board Appointments, placing him on a state body that shapes the selection of those considered for VMI's Board of Visitors (BOV). These events follow Spanberger's amendment to HB1377 to eliminate the legislative Task Force to study VMI, for which Scott would have control over many of the appointments, by shifting the inquiry to the BOV. Spanberger's amendment also eliminated HB1377's line of inquiry into Scott and Wins' allegations that the Board ended the tenure of Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins out of bias, alleging the Board did so after his efforts to address what they alleged, without supporting evidence, were racism, discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment at the Institute. Inman, as President of the BOV, and Gottwald, as a Vice President, would have been key to ensuring an objective, transparent review. With Gottwald off the Board, Inman out of leadership, and Spanberger's appointees holding the majority, Lester Johnson '95 or Damon Williams '90 are likely to become the BOV president. Both were originally appointed by former Gov. Northam, not reappointed by former Gov. Youngkin, and recently returned to the Board by Gov. Spanberger. RADM McKnight '78, who nominated Williams to challenge Gottwald for the presidency in 2025, is likely to renominate him — a bid now bolstered by a favorable board composition, Northam as a Member of the Board, and former Superintendent Wins' influence on the state board overseeing new BOV appointments. The new President will lead how the BOV shapes the study and what "other areas" it delves into per the amended HB1377. This story is developing. The Cadet will continue to report. Send your comment on this directly to the BOV using this link: www.thecadetfoundation.org/action Editor's note: This report is based on information provided by multiple sources with direct knowledge of the events described. VMI administration, VMI's Alumni Agencies, Mr. Gottwald, and Mr. Inman were not contacted prior to publication of this initial report, but may be contacted for follow-up. Speaker Scott's office was contacted on the morning of April 21, 2026, by email and, immediately afterward, by phone, when his representative confirmed receipt of the email and that it would be passed to Speaker Scott's staff immediately with the suspense for a response. The Cadet followed up with a final email requesting comment at 0900 on April 22, 2026, and extended the response deadline to 11:00 am EST on April 22, after a voicemail before noon, and sent one final email before 5:00 PM. Neither the speaker nor his staff responded. This article will be updated as additional information becomes available. VMI or its alumni agencies do not provide support to The Cadet. Please help us remain one of the oldest independent student newspapers in Virginia through a donation at www.thecadetfoundation.org To receive the latest news and updates, add yourself to our newsletter at www.thecadetfoundation.org This story was updated on 4/22/2026 to correct a typo on Lt. Gen. Funress' name